


Broken Glass

by LucyRed



Series: Kindness is a Weakness, Curiosity is a Stumbling Block [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: And keeps getting hit instead, Angst, Frisk is a child that needs a hug, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Not porn, POV Frisk, Sans is a shithead, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and we can have a nice tea party of feels, i'll get the angst boiling, sequel to Merciless, they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 16:17:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6963934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucyRed/pseuds/LucyRed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Merciless</p><p>Frisk had given up. They were tired of the pain, the humiliation, the mockery, and the loneliness. They'd given Sans what he'd wanted - their SOUL. They had stayed dead, and he had been free to absorb their power.</p><p>So why are they alive again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, patient lovelies~  
> Thank you so much for waiting. Your enthusiasm gives me life.  
> Here comes promised pain.  
> Enjoy 8)

You remember emptiness.

You remember being surrounded by dark and quiet.

You remember feeling nothing - no pain, no grief, no anger, no happiness…

It was bliss.

But then you felt something like a cold hand wrapping around your SOUL, and you were pulled from the peaceful silence. Pain surges back, along with your fear, as you’re yanked out of the dark and open your eyes to a blinding brightness.

You stare at the little sparkle of light under your hands, lips parting in shock and confusion. Why are you _back_? Why can you feel your SOUL beating weakly in your chest?

“..wh..” Your brow furrows, and you take a step back, crying out as you remember all of your injuries. A shattered hand, a broken leg, more cuts and bruises than you can count. “....n...n-n-no..”

“heya pal. not even gonna say hello?”

Against your will your entire body starts shaking, and you fall back to your seat, breathing shallow and rapid. No no no no _no_ why are you back?! _Why are you back?!_

“am i gonna have to teach you manners again?”

Sans...it’s Sans. He’s still here. His eyes are on you. You can feel them.

“N-n... _n-n-no_ !” You suddenly scream, slamming your fist down against the floor. It hurts. You don’t care. “ _No!_ ”

“geez, kid, pull yourself together-”

 _“NO!”_ You grab the nearest object (your stick) and throw it at him uselessly, ignoring his amused chuckle when it falls short a few feet, _“NO! Wh-wh-wh-why_?!”

“well, i’d blame gravity and your poor throwing arm - isn’t that one broken? probably shouldn’t be straining that.”

Punching the floor again in anger, you shake your head, continuing to scream. It’s not fair. It’s not _fair_! You collapse onto your side, breathing heavily when you run out of energy to scream.

 _‘Why?!’_ Is he still not done hurting you? Haven’t you gone through enough? You aren’t playing anymore. You stay lying on the floor, shaking with fear and anger, and the threat of frustrated tears building pressure behind your eyes.  
He doesn’t seem to care about your tantrum, and picks you up anyways, carrying you out of the hall, “you look bone tired, kid...how about a sleepover?”

You shut your eyes, saying nothing. You don’t want to go back to this. You don’t want to be _alive_ why can’t he just let you stay dead?

Overwhelmed with exhausting emotions and tired from fighting back tears, you go limp in Sans’s arms, easily passing out.

 

For a moment you wake up to the sensation of being burned. You stare up at a strange, short figure leaning over you with half-closed, sleepy eyes. They grin at you and say something, but you black out again.

 

_“wanna go to Grillby’s?”_

_Nodding, you bounce excitedly and clap your hands, smiling as Sans laughs and puts his arm around your shoulders and leads you off,_ _“grand opening of the new place on the surface...seems fair we should be some of his first customers, right?”_

_‘Is he excited?’_

_“kinda hard to tell with him. Grillby doesn’t really say much.”_

_‘I bet he’s excited. He’ll get a lot of customers. His food is really good.’_

_“NOT GOOD_ _FOR_ _YOU THOUGH!”_

_You give a delighted, surprised shriek as Papyrus lifts you up from behind and places you on his shoulders, “Pap!”_

_“awh, c’mon bro, you can’t just swoop in and snatch up the Ambassador. that’s probably illegal.”_

_“NONSENSE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE GREAT AMBASSADOR’S ROYAL BODYGUARD! IT’S MY BUSINESS TO SWOOP THEM UP!”_

_“snatch them up.”_ _Sans corrects with a grin,_ _“we’re headed to Grillby’s new place. you comin’?”_

_“UGH! THOSE GREASY FOODS...THEY TAKE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE AWAY, BROTHER!”_

_“awh, c’mon. show a little support. you can just get some milk like usual, alright?”_

_Giving a relenting sigh, Papyrus gives in, “HMPH. FINE. I SUPPOSE IT WOULDN’T BE A VERY GRAND OPENING WITHOUT THE GRAND PAPYRUS!”_

_“thought it was ‘the great Papyrus’.”_ _Sans teases with a grin as they start walking down the sidewalk to the brightly lit restaurant in the distance._

_“MY TITLE IS FLEXIBLE TO APPROPRIATELY MATCH THE CONTEXT OF ANY SITUATION! LET US GO, HUMAN!”_

_“bet i can beat you there.”_

_“WHAT?! A CHALLENGE?! NYEHEHEHEH! BROTHER YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH!”_

_You shriek and laugh, gripping Papyrus’s head as he starts rushing down the street. You’ll never get tired of these brothers’ antics. Never ever ever…_

 

Your eyes open. You find yourself with your head lying on a small pillow and the rest of you lying on a cold tiled floor. Lifting your head, you sit up and look around, startled.

You’re in a small room. There’s a counter with some sort of blueprint spread out over the surface, and drawers lining the wall beneath it. You try them. They’re all locked.

Turning around, you see a large, rectangular shape hidden under a thick tarp. You decidedly leave that be, heading for the door you see at the end. It’s locked. Your breath catches in your throat and you try to shake it open.

You’re knocked back as Sans suddenly shoves it open, throwing you to the ground. You tense up in fear, curling up and shutting your lips tightly to hold back the panicked cries you want to give just at the sight of him. Where are you? What are you doing here?

Sans grins, “hey, roomie. welcome home.”


	2. Not a Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk is given time to think which isn't too good considering their desire to be dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idefk guys this is p much just rambling  
> HAVE A THING  
> Warning suicidal thoughts and no filter just a big ol desire to die

Your eyes widen, and your mouth parts to let out a terrified cry, but Sans shoves you back and puts his hand over your lips, eyes narrowing and sockets blackening, “ _don’t you dare make a single goddamn sound, kid._ ”

Quickly you swallow down your scream, nodding in understanding and quickly sliding to your seat when Sans lets you go, ‘Where am I?’ Your hands are shaking badly as you ask.

“my house. but my house doubles as Papyrus’s house, so, you know...unless you wanna get taken to Asgore, have your SOUL ripped out horribly, and be responsible for the slaughter of the entire human race...better keep your mouth shut, huh?”

Your face pales and you nod quickly, ‘Why am I here?’

“‘cause i’m gettin’ tired of that hallway and i need a good nap.”

Brow furrowing in confusion, you slowly get back to your feet, ‘I thought I died?’

Sans snorts, “you die a _lot_ , kiddo. the problem is that you don’t _stay_ dead.”

You pause for a moment, watching his face, ‘But I did...I felt it. It was just...nothing and then it felt like I was pulled back.’

He glances away, “well obviously that ain’t what happened, is it?”

Frowning, you look down at your chest and hold out your hands, summoning your SOUL forward.

The skeleton stiffens, “hey, don’t do th-”

But it’s too late. You’re already staring at the small, glowing heart. The DETERMINATION you’re sensing…it’s not all your own. It’s...darker. Heavier.

...it’s Sans’s…

You look up at him, making eye contact. He stares back at you, expression unreadable. There’s silence for a long moment, until he apparently can’t take it anymore. _“what?!_ ” He snaps.

You get the hint that you should probably just let the matter drop, but you can’t. ‘You brought me back.’

“no i didn’t.” He responds stiffly, eyes narrowing in warning.

‘Yes you did! I was dead for good but you brought me back _why-?’_

Your SOUL is shoved back into your body and you’re slammed back against the wall, Sans’s hand around your neck and his eye lit up in fury. “here’s an idea, _pal_ \- how about your shut your goddamn trap before i cut off your hands?”

Since you don’t doubt that he will, you tuck your hands away under your arms, shaking your head and whimpering. No, no you don’t want any more pain you just...you just want to be _dead_ . But apparently that isn’t allowed, either. But _why_?

He drops you and you fall back to your seat, staring up at him warily. What’s he going to do to you?

It seems that he’s thinking the same thing, as after a minute, he simply turns around and walks out, shutting the door behind him.

What are _you_ going to do? That seems to be a more important question. You turn around to look back at the room. Locked drawers and a tarp too heavy for you to move, and...and a pillow.

For lack of anything else to do, you walk back over to it and sit down, picking it up and looking at it. It's nothing special to look at. Just a dirty, light blue casing over a fairly worn pillow. Yet it interests you immensely simply for the fact that it's _here_.

Sans left you a pillow. You even woke up with your head on it. There's no other form of comfort - no blanket to keep you warm in this cold, tiny room. But there's this. He could've just thrown you in here and never come back. He could have let you _stay_ dead, like you wish he would have.

But he didn't. He brought you _back_.

Sitting back against the wall, you take out your SOUL again. The center of it is still a brighter red, but a darker red surrounds it, filling out the rest of the small heart and holding it together by force.

Sans’s DETERMINATION. It feels heavy and thick and you don't like it at all. To you it's poison. It burns and it aches and it makes your SOUL an anchor that drags you down instead of keeping you steady.

You hate it. You don't _want_ it. You wanted to quit. You still do. But when you put your hands around your SOUL and try to crush it, it's like trying to break solid rock. The center, the only _real_ part of you there, feels fragile, like glass.

You think about trying to break _that_. You think about it for a long, long time. In the end you decide not to. For one, there's no guarantee that you'll destroy your entire SOUL. What could happen is that Sans’s DETERMINATION takes over entirely, and you'll be stuck with a SOUL that you can't break that seems to weigh more than you should be able to carry.

For another...destroying your SOUL is one thing. But the rest of you…it isn't necessary to look around a second time for you to know that there's no way here for you to kill yourself. The fact that you're having these dark thoughts makes you shiver, but there's nothing else to _do_. There's no promise that Sans will ever be back, and if you're going to die you don't want it to be slow.

It's exhausting having your SOUL outside your body, and so you reluctantly reabsorb it, giving a whine at the ache this causes. At least you're tired now. Sleep is something to do. The only thing to do besides think and you don't want to do that anymore.

You lie down, head on the pillow, and close your eyes. Even though the cold keeps you shivering, you fall asleep within minutes, half hoping to die of hypothermia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of the thing


	3. I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "GUILT TRIPPING DOESN'T WORK ON ME!" I scream as I open Writer's Block and pound out 1500 words to stop feeling horrible about myself.
> 
> ALSO formatting is fucked up?? like?? bad???  
> IDK what i'm doing wrong trying to fix it  
> EDIT: OKAY I FIXED IT geez what a freaickin stupid..*mutters veggie swears under breath*

_Sans has never been one to really openly talk about his feelings or inner thoughts. You've gotten that idea - ever since you SAVED his SOUL during your fight with Asriel, ever since you heard him say in that heavy, depressed voice to just give up, you've known that the skeleton has borne something heavy. But you've never tried to get him to open up. He shares to a point, but past that, he's uncomfortable._

_And you understand. You're the same way when it comes to questions about your past, about why you climbed the mountain in the first place._

_Maybe someday you'll feel ready enough to tell somebody. But the pain is still a bit too fresh for you to share it now._

_But one day he comes up to you, smiling like usual and jerking his head lightly in the direction of the door, "hey kiddo. wanna go for a walk?"_

_Sans is not one to exercise, or...move at all, too much. Especially more than necessary. So although you smile back, like usual, you know that there must be something on his mind. You nod, climbing off of your bed and setting your book down on the mattress. You take his hand and he shortcuts you to the local park, casually picking one of the more secluded paths and leading you along._

_For a while he doesn't say too much of anything. Just jokes with you, asks you about how school is going, and mostly just lets you talk. But you never talk too much either, while walking. Sans isn't the most graceful, and you don't like the idea of him turning to look at you constantly while you're signing. Secretly you're afraid that if he trips and hits his head hard enough he might die._

_Eventually though, he stops. He finds a comfy place to sit in the long grass and lets you lean against him as he lies down on his back, watching the sky. It's something he does quite a lot, even when the stars aren't out. You suppose it's more than enough for him to just know that he has a sky now, and not just a ceiling._

_You blow dandelion seeds over the grass for a few minutes, taking the stems and braiding them together until you hear him speak._

_"hey Frisk..."_

_Looking up, you shift yourself so you're facing him and tilt your head._

_"...you're happy up here, right?"_

_You nod, smiling._

_"heh...yeah. you got family, friends, a home, a school...you're doin' real well, by the way...i'm proud of ya."_

_Your smile widens and you giggle, 'Thank you!'_

_He smiles back, but it's a little weak. His eyes turn back to the sky, "..yeah...not like you'd wanna go back, right?"_

_'Back where?'_

_"the Underground. not like you'd want us to all...go back, right? with the barrier back up and monsters cut off from the surface, Toriel in the Ruins and Paps training to be part of a guard meant to fight humans.."_

_You frown, sitting up straighter, 'Sans what are you talking about?'_

_"you...y-you wouldn't wanna take this all away from us, right? y...i mean, just..just imagine how horrible it'd be to wake up, and...and it's like this is all a dream that no one else remembers." He grins, eyes squinting up, "you sit up and look out the window in the middle of what's supposed to be summer and you see snow falling...and you think it's a nightmare, maybe some sick prank...but you get up and you realize you're back and it's like none of it ever happened, nothing you did or said mattered because it's all gone..."_

_"Dunk!" You cry, bracing your hand on the ground and shaking his shoulder, trying to snap him out of his trance, "S-st-top!"_

_Sans blinks rapidly, sitting up quickly and wiping his sleeve over his face, smothering a sniff, "..h-heh...sorry, kid, i just.." He looks at you, and sees that your own eyes are filled with tears. Sans winces, "..Frisk, i.."_

_'You know that I can time travel?'_

_He shifts his jaw, looking away with a guilty expression, "...yeah, i've known for awhile..didn't know it was you until...well it took awhile, but i figured it out."_

_'What do you know about it?'_

_"...i know when you die, you just come back at a SAVE point, right? and everything sets back to that point - everyone forgets everything that happened before then."_

_'Except you.' You realize, eyes widening. How disorienting it must have been for him, to suddenly be back two hours because you died during a FIGHT, maybe in the middle of a conversation or meal..._

_"yeah. and.." Sans closes his eyes, "...i know that you can RESET..that you can load back to when you first fell down, right? you've only done it once before, but i noticed you once went way back..way past several SAVES and even Papyrus didn't know about you..."_

_You stare at him a moment before you finally realize, 'You think I'm going to RESET?'_

_Sans winces, digging his fingers a bit into the dirt, "i mean...i don't think you would but.."_

_'But you do.' Your nose crinkles up and your chin trembles a bit, 'Why? Why would I take this all away? Why would I want to go back?'_

_"i don't..." He looks away, taking in a deep breath, "i-i don't know, kid, all i know is that it can happen and that...i-it's frickin' terrifying, kiddo, to think that..that you might get...get bored and just decide to go back and do it all over again just because you can.."_

_Taking his hand, you crawl into Sans's lap and hug him tightly around the neck, crying, "N-n-ne-ev-ve-er.." You sob out, sniffing and burying your face into the shoulder of his jacket, "I l-lo-ov-ve y-yo-ou...a-a-all-l..n-n-ne-e-v-v-er.."_

_Sans is frozen for a minute, but then he shakingly reaches up his arms and hugs you back, his own chest trembling with the threat of a sob as he clutches you to him, "kid..." He wheezes out a laugh, sniffing, "you've...y-you've no idea h-how much it means to hear...to h-hear you say that..."_

_Smiling, you pull back, wiping at your eyes with the heel of your palm, 'I love you. I promise I will never go back. I want to stay here. I want all of us to stay here, forever.'_

_He gives the most genuine grin you've ever seen, laughing through his relieved tears, "thank you, Frisk...thank you so much..."_

 

* * *

 

 

Your eyes open and you touch a finger to your cheek, feeling a cold, wet track left behind by a tear. You sit up, blinking and wiping your face off as you wait for the dream to fade. Dreams always fade - sometimes you wish they wouldn't, because they were fun, but this time...even though it was happy, you want it to go away. You don't want to remember. Picturing that smile on Sans's face makes your gut twist up in a way you don't like.

"S-S-Sa-an-ns.." You stammer out in a whisper, putting a hand over your mouth. The tears start up again as you hear the echo of his laugh in your mind...not the Sans that put you in here, that crushed you for the fun of it, but the Sans from that dream. He was so happy...he was so happy to hear you promise not to RESET.

What was he talking about though, when he said those things? About friends and family and a home...you have none of those things. Even when you were on the surface you'd never known what it was like to have somewhere or someone to return to. What had YOU been talking about, when you said 'I love you all'?

There's no one that you love any more than there's anyone that loves you.

"...I d-d-do-on-n't u-und-ders-s-sta-and..." You whimper, hugging the pillow to your chest and shivering as you begin to notice the cold again. It feels like you should understand - like you should know the meaning behind these strange dreams.

But it's like trying to grab a handful of fog - you can feel that it's there, that there's something for you to find, but everything slips away. And the harder you look the more distant it all gets. You want to remember but at the same time...the idea fills you with dread.

Where are these dreams coming from? You never had them before. Why now? Why does your mind suddenly want to taunt you with this visions of happiness that you can never have?

You shiver again as a draft of Snowdin air blows in between the cracks of the ceiling and walls, pushing yourself into the corner and behind the thing under the tarp. It's a little bit warmer - you pull your sleeves over your numb fingers and stuff your bare feet under the heavy canvas. You're scared to fall asleep again, but at the same time, it seems to be the only thing you can do. And you want to feel that warmth again, even if there's a bitter, stabbing pain to bear when you wake back up into this cold empty room.

Tucking your face against the pillow, you close your eyes again and hope for sleep. It's your only respite, now, from this harsh reality that you're no longer allowed to escape.

 


	4. SAVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short walk and a short chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...errr....  
> ...hi there.......................................................

You open your eyes as you hear the door open. You sit up, hugging the canvas around your body as Sans steps in. Your chin trembles as his eyelights fall to you.

“get up.”

You obey quickly, scrambling to your feet and marveling slightly about how nice it feels to not have any broken bones in your legs. You hesitantly approach him, wringing your hands. ‘Did I do something wrong?’

Sans scoffs, “i take the time outta my day to come visit you and you immediately play the victim card?”

Your eyes widen and you shake your head, ‘No. I’m sorry. I’m scared. I’m sorry. Thank you.’

Sans shakes his head and steps forward, grabbing your wrist. “let’s go.” Is all he says before teleporting the two of you outside.

You gasp a little at the sudden cold, wrapping your arm around your waist and squinting as you look around. It’s dark out. There’s no one but you and Sans. “...wh...wh-wh-a-at..?”

“where’s your nearest SAVE point.”

You blink, and then look around. You gesture towards the shop, where you can see a little sparkle of light. Sans drags you along wordlessly. You struggle to keep up, panting a little. He doesn’t seem mad. But he seems...something. You wish you knew. It makes you anxious that you don’t.

He pushes you forward, “SAVE.” He orders.

Nodding, you hold your hands over the little light. You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling an ache in your SOUL. You give a gasp and sink to your knees, holding a hand over your chest as you finally make a SAVE. That...had been exhausting.

“what’s wrong with you?” Sans demands as you get back to your feet, legs shaking.

You swallow and turn to him, ‘It hurt.’

Sans’s eye twitches, “your SOUL?”

You nod.

He shifts his jaw and looks away, putting his hands in his pockets, “...probably just you getting used to...new DETERMINATION.” He mutters.

‘Why did you bring me back?’

Sans’s eyes narrow sharply, “i don’t know what you’re talking about.” He seethes. His very tone is a warning.

You’re so scared. But you have to know. ‘Please. Sans please. I wanted to stop. You could’ve had my SOUL.’

Sans grabs your wrist and starts dragging you back to the house, scoffing sharply, “you’d think by now you’d learn when to take a hint.”

“I-I-m s-so-or-ry!” You gasp, crying out as you’re thrown forward onto the living room floor.

“i told you to stop asking questions.” Sans growls, his eye glowing red as he storms towards you, “but you had to be a little _brat_ and push me anyways.”

‘I’m sorry!’ Your hands are a blur of frantic motion as you sign at him, scooting away, ‘I’m sorry I just want to know, Sans! I want so badly to quit why didn’t you let me?!’

“what makes you think i was finished with you?” Sans snaps, summoning a bone attack into his hand and stalking ever closer, “what makes you think you had _permission_ to die? huh?”

‘If you don’t want me dead then what do you want?!’

“i don’t _know_ !” Sans yells, slamming the attack into the ground, barely missing your throat as you freeze up. “i don’t **_fucking know_ **! happy?!”

You stare up at him, whimpering. What does he mean he doesn’t know? How can he not be sure he wants you dead?

Sans seems to be equally frozen for a moment, but it’s so brief...you must have imagined it. He gives a low chuckle, dissipating the attack and leaning back casually. “just messin’ with ya, kid.” He says calmly. “i always know what i’m doing, don’t you know that by now?”

You swallow and give a shaky nod, wrapping your arms around your waist. ‘Can I please know why I’m not dead then?’

“isn’t it obvious?” Sans holds out his arms, grinning, “i don’t _want_ you dead.”

Your eye twitches.

“and i always get what i want, don’t i?”

You shudder and give a nod, lowering your gaze to the floor. ‘Yes Sans.’

“atta kiddo.” Sans grabs your arm and hauls you to your feet, “welp. back to the closet.”

You give a muffled whine at that but follow after him, too exhausted to fight. He tosses you back inside, giving a little wave goodbye before shutting the door behind you, locking it.

You sit back against the wall, feeling more confused than ever. What does he want? When he’d screamed at you that he didn’t know, it sounded genuine, but…

Drawing your legs in, you brace your forehead against your knees and give a sob. You’re so _confused_...you just want answers but he’s refusing to give them to you.

Why can’t you just be _dead_ …

 

Sans heads out on a long walk through Snowdin, leaving the sobbing human locked in his lab as he storms out. He’s confused. And he _hates_ being confused.

Why isn’t that stupid human brat _dead_?

He doesn’t know the answer, and it’s driving him insane. One way or another he’ll get answers.

But if he doesn’t, no big deal. He’s got a live-in punching bag, now, after all. And there’s no rush when he’s got a rewind button under his roof. His scowl morphs into a smirk at the thought.

No rush at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Whatever shall happen next?  
> (sorry it's so short)


End file.
